Page 8 of A Treacherous Bet to Win a Duchess

Cecilia then spent the remainder of the evening pacing up and down her bedroom waiting for her brother to return. She had no plans of greeting him if he did; that was not their custom as siblings. However, she did want to ensure that he was safe.

And frankly speaking, she couldn’t care less for his loud friends. Mrs. Ramsbury always said that one’s companions could make or break one’s life. Therefore, one must choose her associates wisely.

Brother would do well to listen to such advice.

Again, she thought about how silly he looked as he ran off into the night.

And as for that Earl of Farellshire…

“I do not like him.”

“I beg your pardon, Lady Cecilia?”

Cecilia blinked.

No! I didn’t mean to say it out loud.

Miss Meyers smiled and closed the notebook she was holding. She sat down on the chair directly opposite Cecilia.

“I suppose we could take a well-deserved break, Lady Cecilia. Why don’t we go out onto the terrace and soak up some afternoon sunshine?”

“Yes, Miss Meyer.”

Thank goodness, I thought she was going to scold me.

* * *

“Have you had a chance to visit our reflecting pool, Miss Meyer?”

“I’m afraid not, Lady Cecilia.”

“Would you care to see it? It’s so lovely. I do believe it is my favorite part of our grounds.”

Cecilia led her along the western side of the house. When they had finally reached it, she examined Miss Meyer’s expression to see if she was impressed by its beauty. However, Cecilia was surprised to find that Miss Meyer looked more thoughtful than awe inspired.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you think it’s beautiful?”

“Of course I do! And I hope you’ll forgive me for saying so, Lady Cecilia, but it’s all a bit amusing.”

Totally bewildered by this review of her favorite garden attraction, Cecilia pressed, “What do you mean, ‘amusing’, Miss Meyer? What could possibly be amusing about a reflecting pool?”

With a lighthearted chuckle, Miss Meyer replied, “No, no, child. The reflecting pool is quite beautiful, especially at this hour. But what I find amusing is how you have a beautiful house filled with beautiful things, and a beautiful garden filled with extravagant garden furniture and tall statues. And yet, none of this impresses you as much as this quiet reflecting pool.”

Cecilia couldn’t help but smile. Miss Meyer was right—she had never thought of it like that before.

“Yes, that is quite amusing. Looking at it now, I can see that it does seem a bit plain. Or maybe—”

Cecilia stopped. She stared at the surface of the pool.

“Is everything all right, Lady Cecilia?”

“Yes, Miss Meyer. But I do believe I’m realizing something just now.”

Nodding, Miss Meyer said, “I see.”

Cecilia turned to face her, “I’ve realized that this reflecting pool is, in fact, quite ordinary. But perhaps the reason I thought it was beautiful was because mother and I used to stop by here on our walks around the garden. She told me many stories sitting on those exact stones right there.”

She pointed to two large polished stones that were placed next to the pool for decoration.